Until The End
by Ieni
Summary: Valkyrie Cain wakes up alone. She has no idea where she is, she doesn't know where Skulduggery is and she doesn't know how she got there. And that kind of terrifies her. Reviews always helpful :)
1. Part 1

_Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters belong to Derek Landy._

The first thing Valkyrie Cain noticed when she awoke that her neck was stiff. Her head seemed to be lying on a hard surface and from how she felt jagged edges biting into her back that she was probably somewhere full of stones. Maybe gravel. She felt uncomfortably hot and could feel layers of sweat rolling down her body. Automatically, she called upon her magic as she did to solve any problem, but when she couldn't summon any moisture to cool her down, she frowned. It wasn't unusual for her to struggle with the element of water, but for her magic to be this unreliable she must be very weak.

Valkyrie's first instinct was to call Skulduggery for help, despite something itching at her saying this was not a good idea. She tried to open her eyes, but as soon as she did stinging dark particulates swarmed her vision. Immediately, Valkyrie shut them again but she now was beginning to get worried.

Where was Skulduggery? Where was she and how did she get here? The last thing she remembered was fighting against the Brides of Blood Tears. Oh no. She had been captured, hadn't she? Valkyrie squirmed. At the best of times she hated being held captive, but these witches that she had _really _pissed off would probably make life hell for her.

She pulled her back up, her eyes still closed and started to fumble around for her phone. But when she couldn't find the pocket it was usually in, she remembered she must have left her phone with the black protective clothes she had abandoned at the Brides of Blood Tears' Temple.

The panic was really beginning to set in now. The world mage community was at full scale war and so her disappearance would not be a priority. No one would come and help her. She could die here. Valkyrie bit her lip and forced herself to stay calm. She attempted to vanquish all negative thoughts from her head, but however hard she tried there was still some uncertainty lingering there.

_Where was Skulduggery?_

She sat up and felt around. Her hand caught at a sticky liquid to the left of her. She raised her hand he noise and winced at the smell of iron. God, she didn't know whether to hope it wasn't her blood or not.

_What had happened here?_

Just as she was beginning feel enclosed with isolation, she heard shouting very distantly. She nearly cried out in joy. She was not alone.

"Hello?"

Valkyrie tried to shout, except the dryness of her throat caused it to come out like a croak. She scowled at tried again.

"Hello? Hello? Anyone there?"

No reply. Only the sound of the wind laughing in her face.

"Skulduggery? Skulduggery? _Skulduggery?_"

She shouted his name for what seemed like hours. Finally her throat was so broken and parched she could not shout any longer. She had used up all her energy shouting and soon fell into a dreamless sleep.

As the smell of smoke drifted into Valkyrie's nostrils, she twisted and turned in her sleep. The flames licked at the edges of her clothes, joking with her, as the smoke danced around her teasingly before diving into her lungs. She woke as her body began to protectively cough out the unwanted invader. Out of the corner of her eye she glimpsed the bright orange flame that was delighted she had woken up to play. She yelled, rolled over to quench the fire and jumped up. Valkyrie begun to run though the darkness, hands out blindly in front of her. Tears began break through the mud on her dirt-ridden face, due to the smoke irritating her eyes. She pulled her arm up across her mouth to try and prevent the black particulates from entering her lungs. The flames twirled behind her, racing to keep up. After a while she was out of the danger zone, but she suddenly cried out as she tripped over a branch and went sprawling head first to the ground. Valkyrie cursed and spat onto the pavement. Still paranoid that she could feel the heat pressing on her, she crawled forward on her aching arms and legs.

The next time she looked up, she realised that the air was now clear of soot and she could finally see her surroundings. From the amount of buildings she could see that she was in some sort of city, but she didn't recognise which one, although judging by the signs it was in Ireland. But how was she in Ireland? This certainly wasn't the Sahara Desert. What had happened in the temple of the Brides of Blood Tears?

Despite it being night, it was rare for a city street to be this quiet. Something was very wrong. The war between the Sanctuaries clearly must have escalated beyond control.

She turned around and stared, her eyes transfixed in horror at what she had been running from. In the distance, she could see trees that were dishevelled and blackened. Buildings had windows missing and others had large chunks that had been burnt away, as if there been a large explosion. The rancid smell of burnt meat filled the air and it made Valkyrie gag. She turned away, distressed over what she had seen. It didn't help that she still had a nagging feeling that she'd missed something really important.

She didn't have her phone, she had no idea where she was and she had no idea what was going on. After a while of thinking, she decided to find someone with a phone. Maybe sneak into a home, borrow a phone to call Skulduggery and then return it again. She strode forward, her pace quicker now she had a purpose.

After a few minutes of she found a home with a small window – probably from a bathroom - sticking out of side and looking out onto a garden. Valkyrie crept into the home and squeezed under the wooden gate into the garden. In the gloom she could make out a well-manicured garden with a huge apple tree at the rear.

She walked up to the window and prepared to propel herself upwards, but when she didn't move, she frowned. Perplexed, she tried again. When still nothing happened, she sighed and looked around for another way to get up.

Nearby there was a tree. It was tall, but lean and slanted over to the side of the house. Due to its thin nature, it would be a challenge to climb and even once she'd reached the top, there was a few feet to jump to the ledge and without her magic she'd probably miss it and just injure herself. Valkyrie realised she'd have to break into the house by force.

Walking up to the back door on the ground floor, she wondered why her magic had not been able to pull her up to the bathroom. She'd never had this problem before in all her six years of being involved in the magical community and she didn't like it at all. Her head felt dizzy in worry – what was wrong with her? Valkyrie tried to shrug it aside, but it kept flicking at her mind, pulling and pirouetting around her thoughts.

Still uneasy, she walked up to the door, bent her right leg and threw it into the frame. It promptly gave way and she sneaked in. It seemed like a nice house, a little creepy in the dark, but it was filled with pictures of captivating art and family photos.

Pausing for a moment, she looked at one. There were five men sitting on a hill far above the landscape. Valkyrie could almost hear the trees bristling and wind blowing on her face. In some ways they looked completely different: one was clean shaven and the other had a navy blue beanie, but they all had their arms around each other, grins on their faces. Laughter was practically radiating out of the picture. Valkyrie looked at it, her expression sorrowful. She yearned to see her own her best friend. She missed his sarcasm, his laughter and his smooth voice that when she heard she knew everything was going to be okay.

She persisted down the corridor, her eyes combing around for any possible phone. At last, when she reached what looked like the kitchen she saw a small electronic device. A smile on her face, she picked it up and pressed the on button. The screen blinked on and the phone brand name flashed across the screen. Valkyrie's smile faded as a password came up but she quickly pressed all the buttons to reset it.

Around five minutes later, when it had reloaded she grabbed the phone and stole back outside again onto the street. She was thrilled to be finally able to get answers, but her gut was still insisted that something was not false. However she ignored it and dialled in Skulduggery's number. It rang five times before it was picked up.

"Hello?" came a smooth voice, "Who is this?"

All of Valkyrie's muscles relaxed. It was fine, Skulduggery was there.

"Skulduggery? Hi, it's me, Valkyrie? What happened? The last I remember was fighting those Brides of Blood Tears witches. Now suddenly I'm in a random city in Ireland that looks like it's been in a war zone?" The words came out quickly and in a jumble.

There was a long pause on the other end of the phone. Voices from Skulduggery's end could be heard drifting down the line. They were a blend of accents, but Valkyrie couldn't distinguish any particular voice owner.

"Skulduggery? Skulduggery? Are you still there?"

There was a few seconds before he replied.

"I'm here, Valkyrie," he said, his voice calm. "Where are you? Can you see any road signs or street signs?"

She backtracked in her mind to the end of the street she had walked up and saw the street name clearly inside her head.

"Wait, yes. It was called 'Fisher Street'."

More mutterings in the background.

"Skulduggery, who's there? Where are you?" She demanded.

"Is it a trick?" came a very faint English voice.

"Skulduggery? Skulduggery? Who's there?"

"Don't worry Valkyrie. I'll be on my way," he said, but there was an edge to his voice, one that made her tremble.

"Skulduggery? Skulduggery? I – "

But the line went dead on the other end and a soft buzzing noise replaced his voice in her ears. She began to shiver in dread. The one person she had been relying on, who she could always rely on was using the voice he usually reserved for criminals they were fighting.

_Criminals they were fighting._

"_Is it a trick?"_

Her stomach wrenched and her limbs began to feel very hollow.

"No," she whispered.

Her knees buckled and she hit the ground with a thump. She wrapped her hands around her chest and started to shake uncontrollably as sobs wracked her body.

The jigsaw pieces had finally slotted into place and the picture it created was one of disgust, horror and shame. Valkyrie realised now that she had missed something very obvious, right from the beginning. An abnormality that should have stuck her instantaneously, from the moment she woke up _completely _alone.

_Darquesse's voice was gone._

For the past few months, it had been becoming increasingly more distinct. At times it didn't contribute much, however she could always feel it throbbing in the back of her head, growing in presence.

_NO NO NO NO NO _

It was evident now, that her last memory – the temple of the Brides of Blood Tears was where she had relinquished control to Darquesse and from then to the spot she had woken up, Darquesse had been in complete control.

Valkyrie closed her eyes, brought her legs up to her body and rocked back and forward groaning as she thought of what Darquesse had done in her time as mission commander of Valkyrie's body. She thought back to the water pouring down her face as she had watched Cassandra's vision.

Her eyes opened wide in horror on what she had done to her family, then she threw her head up, her long hair flying backwards and a terrible noise stabbed the night. The screech echoed around the street filling it with the sound of stark revulsion.

A part of her brain informed her that she when Skulduggery and the other mages found her, she would probably be locked up for the rest of her life. She knew this, but the guilt was burning her up so furiously she didn't care. Anything that was coming to her, she deserved it.

Valkyrie was so disorientated by her own self-contempt, she missed the new shadow that hung over her.

"Are you just going to sit there crying all day, Valkyrie Cain?"

Valkyrie looked up, tears still cascading down from her now swollen eyes. A mesmerising woman stood, her blazing blue eyes gazing down at Valkyrie's pitiful form.

Valkyrie blinked, her mouth wide open.

"China?" she said, shocked.

"That's Grand Mage Sorrows to you," said China, a grimace on her face. "Although," she sighed, "I definitely think that title will be revoked after today."

Still completely stunned, Valkyrie said, "Grand Mage? Why? What's happening today?"

"I replaced Ravel of course. No one else was prepared for the responsibility of clearing up the mess that the international magical community was in. I, however was willing to accept the burden."

"But I still don't understand," said Valkyrie, confused. "What changes today?"

China laughed. "You of course, my dear Valkyrie."


	2. Part 2

China had filled only little of the details in concerning Valkyrie's time as Darquesse, as apparently time was too scarce, however nothing of importance had been revealed that Valkyrie had not yet already deduced. Relief and the necessity to understand split her like a torn rag. It had no care for her already broken spirit, or her loss at the friendship of her best friend – Skulduggery Pleasant. The acidic dread at a possible encounter burnt in her veins and arteries. She knew it was self-centred, but at a small part of her had hoped that at least due to his similar incursions he would stand by her as the magical community crushed at her at its full force.

"_Until the end."_

"_Until the end."_

Although the scene in Cassandra's Vision where the promise was held replayed inside her head, she still felt a sense of betrayal at Skulduggery's actions. She allowed a moment to grieve and whisper goodbye, then buried it down beneath all the other shame and remorse that twisted inside of her.

The cycle of movement her legs were making now was on impulse. Her legs still felt shaky and unsteady from the night before. The black leather boots on her feet – not ones she had previously recognised – slammed down in a constant rhythm as she ran to keep up with China Sorrows. The beautiful woman floated beside her. China's steps were ones of poise, elegance and grace. It was almost if she was dancing, rather than sprinting at full stamina. Together they raced down behind the still, grave houses. From what Valkyrie could gather, they were running away from the inner suburbs to the outer, more isolated suburbs.

Valkyrie knew, of course, that trusting China Sorrows to serve anyone but herself was like trusting Erskine Ravel to not stab you in the back. This could mean that China was leading her straight to Skulduggery and the people – most likely Sanctuary officials – he was with, but instead Valkyrie was relying on this fact for a different reason. If China was Grand Mage, as she said she was, then despite Valkyrie's doubts, the Sanctuary would never allow her to meet an alleged world-breaker alone.

Silence had settled in the air since when the run first began, but as she felt the pace gradually slowing, she thought it was now appropriate for questions.

"Are we stopping?" asked Valkyrie.

"No. We just need to adjust our care on this stretch."

Valkyrie's forehead creased in as they exited urban Dublin. They had slipped in and out of the backstreets around the houses and now a mixture of wide open farmland and dense woodland approached them.

Blindly following China on faith meant that she still had no idea why their final destination was, so she said nothing as they headed towards the wood. The trees ensnarled them into their grasp and enclosed them against the dawn. Valkyrie looked behind to see the rising sun silently peeping from beyond the horizon, then faced forward and followed China deeper into the forest.

China reached across and gently touched Valkyrie's arm.

"We must be quieter here Valkyrie, for as to not grasp the attention of the animals that rest inside this place."

Valkyrie nodded as the slowed, but inside, her stomach stirred uneasily as the leaves hung over them warningly. As they crept forward, the broken twigs crunching below them, odd pointed branches sometimes stuck out, scratching at their faces.

Sometimes she thought she heard an occasional growling noise from the distance, or the swift rustling of leaves. At first every time the noise prickled at her skull, she gave a small jolt in terror, but then it became a comforting noise, that they were not alone in this dismal forest devoid of sunlight.

Around half an hour later a wooden hut appeared in the distance. The wooden planks it was made from looked firm, but there was a kind of mustiness surrounding it and moss climbed and perched through the wood.

"Is that where we're going, China?" said Valkyrie, frowning at it. Personally she thought it looked rather timeworn and unsafe. The way it was leaning to one side suggested the foundation – if it had any – was fragile and decrepit.

China laughed. The sound rang out and twirled around the branches.

"Oh, my dear Valkyrie. That is the beauty of this place."

A confused expression appeared on Valkyrie's face.

"Appearances are deceiving," continued China, "It is unattractive and unappealing, which lessens the attention is receives."

"What is it?"

"One of my refuges. I used to go here when the constant roar of the city gets too irritating. Although," she sighed, "since my library was shattered I have found refuge here more often."

She was quiet for a moment, as if in regret, then smiled warmly at Valkyrie.

"Come," she said, gesturing towards it.

China took a bronze key from her pocket and after unlocking the wooden door and then after removing the bolts – which scratched against the wall - she gestured inside.

Valkyrie stepped inside, shaking off the leaves from her jacket – also a garment she had never seen before - and then her mouth dropped in amazement.

"Wow," she said quietly.

China had been right about appearances being deceiving. It was the complete opposite to the tired looking, uncared for exterior. Beneath her was smooth oak flooring, with a white woollen rug placed in the centre. Three of the walls were covered in bookshelves, a home to various faded bound books. From some of the titles the Valkyrie glanced, they were not in modern English, but in an older Shakespearean form that did not fully understand. The final wall, at the rear, had a small log fire with a chimney. Its panels were decorated with various ornaments and there were beautiful, intricate carvings that showed picture and symbols of the theme of nature all over the wood.

"Ironic," said China, who had been following Valkyrie's gaze, "that I choose to show my love of nature on a dead piece of it."

"You did this?" Valkyrie asked.

"Oh, yes. When you have four hundred years of experience, you tend to pick up the oddest skills. For example I once had a phase of Baroque instruments," she shuddered, "But then I found it unsightly to be red-faced from playing the Oboe d'amore."

Valkyrie burst out laughing at the vision of China Sorrows with a frustrated expression from playing a wind instrument.

"Ah, well," she said, "Those days are over."

Still grinning Valkyrie began to turn around.

"Hey is there anywhere to –"

Valkyrie stopped dead. Her eyes transfixed at the black figure standing silently at the entrance of the shack. She gasped and began to step backwards, her eyes never leaving him, as he looked gravely back at her. The terror roared in her ears, screaming in alarm at the danger.

"No, no!" she yelled, "Get away from me."

The man recoiled slightly and Valkyrie felt a little tug somewhere in her body but she continued moving backwards despite how he himself was stationary.

How far had he followed them? How did he know where they would be?

Valkyrie snorted, "It's always a mistake to trust you China, isn't it."

"Valkyrie, you don't –"

But Valkyrie Cain was no longer interested in to the defences of a woman she had once classified as a friend and was busy searching around for an exit route. The door was obviously blocked, but there was a small glass window on her left hand side and unless anything else presented itself, it seemed this was the best idea. Once she was outside, she would just have to run as fast as her legs would take her, except she was feeling very exhausted now. It was just the panic keeping her standing.

Without looking back, Valkyrie instantaneously darted and jumped towards the window. Her plan was to use the air to propel herself towards the window, but she wasn't accelerating and there was just solid glass coming to meet her head and -


	3. Part 3

The low beat ricocheted around Valkyrie's head – which was lying on something cushiony - and her skull pounded so much it made her stomach feel unrestful. Every time she swallowed her throat felt like coarse sandpaper, because her throat was so incredibly parched. She concentrated hard on trying to avoid that simple movement, but her thoughts were filled with the searing ache at the back of her eyes. She winced, then opened her eyes wide as it caused her throat muscles to twitch. Coughing and spluttering, she slammed her body forwards and found herself sitting on a purple and white floral patterned sofa. Her throat muscles shuddered in spasm and she wretched forward, but as her stomach was defiantly empty, no bile appeared.

Valkyrie felt a hand on her shoulder, supporting her back as she leant over. Panic shot into her bloodstream at the new touch and she twisted to her right to drag the intruder off, but its soft grip remained sturdy. In the attempt to get free, the top half of her had slipped off the sofa at an angle and her muscles in her back protested as they were stretched. Valkyrie's long, thin black hair – she noticed the dirt and grease had been washed out of it – dangled in front of face. She grimaced as some of it and crept inside her open mouth and tickled the inside of her bottom lip. She spat it out and dragged her head and shoulders back up. Once she had pulled the loose strands from her face she noticed the skull looking down at her.

"You're a very odd person, Valkyrie Cain," came a voice as the jawbone moved up and down.

Despite still being very shaky, she sat up and studied him silently. Skulduggery Pleasant had changed little since the last time they had met: a black pinstriped suit hung around his skeletal frame, blank leather gloves covered his hand bones and a black fedora sat on his head. He stared back at her, his expression unreadable.

"So," said Valkyrie, crossing her arms, "what are you doing here Skulduggery?"

Skulduggery tilted his head, puzzled.

"I thought that would be obvious, Valkyrie. The question is, what are _you _doing here?"

"Well, when China found me, I thought I could trust her, however I realise that it was blindingly evident," she said, shooting him a glower.

He returned it with an even look, but Skulduggery's apparent ignorance was really beginning to irritate Valkyrie now.

"What evidence?" he said and the infuriation exploded from Valkyrie.

"_What evidence?" _she repeated, mimicking his low voice, "How about how you hung up on me, whilst I was completely terrified? Or maybe how you were clearly working with the English mages?"

His betrayal still burnt inside her, like undiluted acid. In spite of everything: her own shame and horror this was the one thing that weighed down her legs with a thousand kilogram weight.

Swaying, she stood and stared directly into his empty eye sockets.

"You know Skulduggery, I'm not stupid."

"I've never thought you were," he said softly.

"Then stop acting like it!" the words tore out of her, violently splitting her skin. "I know what happened, Skulduggery – I know what I am."

"Valkyrie, you're not – "

"I'm a mass murderer, Skulduggery." She spat the words out in disgust. "I said yes to Darquesse and because I couldn't face the pain, because I was too weak, thousands – maybe millions might be dead."

The words just kept flowing out in a torrent of jumbled breaths. Something inside Valkyrie was begging her to stop but fire is easier to spark than it is to quench.

"But maybe, just maybe, I wondered that because you're not too dissimilar to me – not really – you wouldn't abandon me when I needed you most."

"I'm right here, Valkyrie."

She ignored him and hurried on, but inside something was agreeing with him, nodding that he was right and she deserved everything she was going to get.

"But you were my best friend, Skulduggery - "

"Am," he interrupted.

"Shut up!" she roared at him, "Shut up – just shut up!"

Valkyrie put her hand over her eyes, so that she didn't have to see him jerk in pain.

"And I know, I know I deserve to be treated like a criminal. I am worthy to sit rotting in prison for the rest of my days. My actions justify death. Part of me even wants to die. I'd do anything. I'd do anything just so I didn't have to look at the faces telling me that I murdered their brother, or child. Anything to not have to see the endless list of names – some I recognise, some I do not – or the ground above graves with the bodies I put in there. And do you realise what the worst thing is?"

An agonised noise escaped her mouth. It started as a cold laugh, but warped into a broken sob.

"I can't even remember," she whispered partly to Skulduggery and partly to herself. "I murdered all those people, did all those things that the psychics saw…and I can't even remember it."

The sobs racked out of her body and she felt the tears crash down onto her numb cheeks.

"And my family," she tried to say, but the words just came out in a tangled heap.

She didn't feel her legs give way, but saw everything blur together around her as she floor came up. Suddenly the hands were there again and Skulduggery easily pulling her in like a child, as she curled up as if she was twelve again.

Valkyrie didn't know how long she stayed like that: clinging onto him as she drowned in the inferno. Seconds, minutes and hours all folded into one. Time was irrelevant.

In the distance, there was a pleading voice trying to reach her, but it was muffled by the thick wall that encompassed her. She thought it might belong to Skulduggery. Valkyrie wondered if this is what Skulduggery felt, all those years ago when he realised what Lord Vile had done. He'd once told her, all those years ago that he wanted her death 'to be her own', not like his wife and child's. But Skulduggery wasn't directly responsible for his family's death, like Valkyrie was. She'd seen the vision – even if the memory was in some blackened unreachable part of her mind – in Cassandra's mind and she knew what she had done to them. Their ashes were probably irreversibly scattered across the earthy ground of Ireland now and it was her fault.

"Valkyrie, Valkyrie."

Why did Skulduggery keep on saying her name?

"Valkyrie, Valkyrie. Please listen to me."

What did it matter? It wasn't going to change who she was, or what she'd done.

"Valkyrie. Your magic has gone hasn't it?"

The statement tugged at her. She opened her eyes, looked up at him through her haze in her eyes and gave a slow nod.

"That's because you should have never been able to use magic."

Never been able to use magic? But it had come surging out of her since she'd chosen to become a mage. She'd been highly praised for her Elemental ability and told she'd had a natural flair for necromancy.

Skulduggery carried Valkyrie over to the sofa and then set her down. Still supporting her, he sat next to her, then took the equivalent of a breath and said, "Darquesse's soul was your source to magic. From our inferences and information from the magical scientists, we think they were separate, but entwined within your body. We think that something dark has been hiding in your ancestors since they day that last ancient plunged the sceptre into the earth. As this person fought and survived against all the others of their race, they were obviously a very powerful being. Somehow they survived, hurtling down through the generations, until they came to you."

Valkyrie stared, her face aghast.

"Because how integrated I was into the magical community." She whispered. "Magic became my life. It gave me a buzz. I gave _her _access to a body. I woke her up – every time I used her magic, she got a little more control over me. Oh my God, I insured the most dangerous mage the world had seen since Mevolent came to consciousness."

Distressed, she tried to bury her face back in her hands but Skulduggery took them and gripped them gently, forcing her to look at him.

"But don't you see? It wasn't you. That means you are not responsible for the actions of Darquesse."

"Even so, my family -"

Skulduggery's smooth voice cut across, "Valkyrie, I've been trying to tell you that –"

Valkyrie looked up, her tired eyes suddenly sharp and said urgently, "What, Skulduggery? What about my family?"

"You family is _alive_, Valkyrie."

Valkyrie Cain let out a breath that she didn't know she'd been holding a smile of pure elation stretched out onto her face. Her mouth was wide open and for the first time in over a day the creases on her forehead smoothed out. The skin was tight and gaunt on her hands, but as they clapped over her mouth in surprise she didn't care. She laughed aloud and in a joy launched herself at Skulduggery, hugging her arms tightly around his bones. In return he wrapped his own skeletal arm around her and if he had a face she too knew he would be smiling.

Alice would be so tall by now and her speech would be advanced. Something shifted at the bottom of Valkyrie's stomach as she realised how much of her younger sister's early childhood she had missed. Guilt twisted at her as she realised what an irresponsible older sister she had been. When Alice was born, Valkyrie had vowed to care and protect her, whatever it took.

"I need to see them, I mean, are they okay? Did The Reflection treat them well? You kept an eye on them, I presume?" she said anxiously.

"Of course," Skulduggery reassured her, "But because of that your family is always under surveillance, which obviously means any contact with them would immediately alert The Sanctuary."

Oh God. The Sanctuary. Valkyrie had completely forgotten the phone call since she'd awoken.

"Skulduggery…" she moved slowly through the syllables of his name, afraid of what the answer would imply, "How did you know I would be here, with China? I thought, I thought you'd…"

"There wasn't many people who I could completely trust. Dexter and Saracen would have died to protect you, of course, but they no longer believed there was a Valkyrie Cain left to save. I knew China would help me and being Grand Mage she had complete access to all the information about you. We'd arranged previously what would happen in different situations. This one – you being found alive, as yourself – meant that we gave the other one information on where you were and they would come and find you. We took for granted that you'd try and contact me as soon as possible, but there were so many other details that could have gone wrong. For example, someone else, more intent on revenge could have found you before we did." He paused, "I know you think was against you, but I had to at least pretend in the hope to buy yourself and China a little more time."

Even though she had guessed as much, Valkyrie took a huge sigh of relief and felt her weight lighten slightly more.

"But I don't understand - how did you know I would pull through? Darquesse _did_ fully take over and I don't remember anything since Africa."

"I didn't," he said quietly. "I merely hoped."

The bleakness in his voice was like a punch to her lungs. He had clung on to the fact she could be strong enough to fight Darquesse, but she hadn't. Skulduggery had always tried to think the best of her and she'd disappointed him.

As if reading her thoughts he shook his head, "You could never disappoint me, Valkyrie Cain. You never have and you never will. "

She gave her best friend a weak smile.

"Thank you," Valkyrie whispered.


	4. Part 4

_Unexplored truth, it seemed was a haunting thing. It had dragged Valkyrie straight down an inescapable mouth in the dirt with nothing but the dying of the light to ease her passing into the ever looming dimness. Memories of those who had once trusted her cut her like stones as she scraped down the wall of her own head. Self-hatred had previously caved over her, its reeking malice everywhere. The suffocation had been intense. _

_But then there was a voice, reaching from beyond the darkness. It soothed her and promised there would always be hope. It didn't lend a hand down to help her up, because it _believed_ she could do it and that was more strength than anyone could physically give her._

Valkyrie hadn't realised the constant ache for food in her belly until Skulduggery placed some steaming liquid in front of her. This should have been unsurprising, really, as she evidently had not eaten since –

She shuddered and cast the thought of Darquesse having possession of Valkyrie body away from her mind.

The rich scent of chicken soup drifted towards her and she felt the heat radiating onto her face. It made her hollow stomach rage and without even picking up the eloquent silver spoon laid out in from of her, she grabbed the delicate bowl and shoved it up her mouth. The heat spread though her body. It trickled down her throat, slightly too warm, but she didn't care. In about thirty seconds, much to Skulduggery's amusement, she had guzzled her way through the whole bowl.

In an odd sort of way, it was comforting to see that at least chicken soup hadn't changed. She laughed out loud and received a puzzled look from Skulduggery in return.

"Wow," she smiled, "I'd forgotten how great chicken soup is. You know, it's like a warm hug on a rainy day?"

"Yes," he said in a very serious voice, "I absolutely agree. I just can't have enough of the stuff. Had twenty portions of it in the last week."

"Wait, what?" she said, confused.

"Oh dear, Valkyrie. Your IQ seems to have lowered even more that it already was. It didn't think that was possible, but again you seem to exceed even the expectation of one with over four hundred years of odd experiences."

After a few seconds it clicked and Valkyrie rolled her eyes.

"Oh my God, Skulduggery," she groaned, "Apparently your jokes are getting even worse too. I didn't think _that _was possible."

"Wait, no," he protested, "You can't say that. _I _said first that I didn't think it was possible you could get more stupid, you can't use that back on me."

"Who said so?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure you did at some point."

"Me?" she said, widening her eyes in pretend innocence. "I did not."

"Yes, you did," he insisted, "It was that time you called me a moron and then I called you a moron -because you are clearly the moron out of the two of us - and then you said that I couldn't call you a moron, because you were apparently not a moron."

She tried her best to keep a straight face, but she felt her top lip betraying her by trembling then ended up laughing uncontrollably, "You, Skulduggery Pleasant, are a total moron."

"I think you meant possibly 'total genius', but as you're not that bright yourself I think I could find a place in my metaphorical heart to forgive you."

She rolled her eyes then made an agile swipe at his fedora. Valkyrie seized it then held her prize triumphantly in the air.

"Not such a genius to avoid that," she teased.

Skulduggery shook his head then hurled himself at Valkyrie. Mid-laugh, she was caught off-guard and her body soared backwards, feeling the air trajectory shift as Skulduggery cushioned her fall against the sofa. He strode over and tried to grab his hat, but she clutched it firmly and hugged it against her chest.

"Oh my God, you're going to regret that!" she shrieked, passing a movement through her free hand ready to take her revenge.

He froze, his arm still outstretched to he and watched as Valkyrie's smiled faded. She stared blankly at her hand as it hung there, limp. On top of all the guilt and horror, she hadn't really seen the gaping vacuum left in her personality. Magic, with all its beauties and flaws, had been essential to her life before just like her ability to read and write. Despite all the years she had used it, the anticipation and adrenaline seemed as clear as she first remembered as a twelve year old. In fact, as she had developed and grown with her magic she'd began to appreciate it more and more. The addiction had bleed into her like a drug and maybe it was that in the end that had opened the door for Darquesse in her attempt for the destruction of humanity. Skulduggery had been right, power – especially the sort magic brought – was intoxicating.

The hat slipped between her fingers and landed softly on the floor. She stared at it for a moment, transfixed by how even though the history and the anguish and the suffering it had seen, it still remained creaseless.

Valkyrie saw Skulduggery's gloved hands reach to pick the fallen object up.

"How do you do it, Skulduggery?" Her voice was thin, as though there was a hand tight around her throat. "How do you…"

A voice flew from behind, "Forget? Accept? Move on? Learn to live with yourself?"

China Sorrows looked at her, a painful, broken ghost of a smile etched upon her usually composed features. It was like the usual glass covering her eyes was smashed and they looked at Valkyrie sadly. The rawness of this new unmasked China Sorrows would have made Valkyrie feel uncomfortable if she wasn't so desperate.

"How do you think I carry on, knowing that I am partly responsible for the deaths of Skulduggery's wife and child? _A child_." China's voice cracked.

"But you carry on, don't you?" said Valkyrie, not bothering to hide the apprehension slashing out of her that she _needed _to here this. That she _needed _to be reassured.

"Carry on?" China laughed, "My child do you have any idea how ludicrous that sounds to me? You don't carry on, not really. Physically, you walk on, yes. You meet new people, maybe find a new hobby to try and burry everything under, but really you're stuck watching your same mistakes over and over again. It doesn't change what you did: some things I've seen will as always be as bright as flame in my head and over the years as you learn more and more of what it is to be human you find even more atrocities in what you did. Tiny details that seemed irrelevant before just replay and replay and you know and understand that pressing the pause button would simply be an insult to their memory."

Out of the corner of her eye, Valkyrie noticed that Skulduggery wasn't looking at China as she spoke, but simply started into a corner of the room. Not for the first time, she wondered what went on behind those empty eye sockets.

"I know," Skulduggery said, still in an almost trance. He snapped up and turned to Valkyrie. "But for you it can be different – you are not directly responsible, not like me and -"he paused, "China."

"But if I had been stronger, then she would never have taken control, all those people wouldn't have died," Valkyrie interjected.

"From the information we seem to have gathered, it's incredible that you held Darquesse off for that long anyway. With her immense power as shown, she should have had a lot of influence on you," said China, "Remember that in itself seems to be a miracle."

"But it doesn't matter, does it? Whatever she did, it's still on me. It was still _because _of me that it happened."

"You are not to blame, Valkyrie," Skulduggery said softly, "Of the three people in this room, you are the one that we still have hope for not the responsibility for a teenager to deal with Darquesse. It should have been me, or China. We should have helped you."

Despite him being Valkyrie's best friend, Valkyrie seemed to find little comfort in his words.

"I know why you don't believe me Valkyrie. Especially me," he added.

Valkyrie bit her lip guiltily and sadness flushed inside, because she knew something had changed between them. It was unspoken - and something she hadn't really realised - but it caught on her throat like ice cold water.

Before, Valkyrie had learnt to forgive Skulduggery for the monster he had been as Lord Vile, despite the initial shock. It was her own stinging fear that let her accept what he was. She was so terrified that she'd end up like him and it was easier to deal with if she wasn't so completely repulsed by the wreck of a man that stood in front of her. But she could see now, the mass killer he was; the murderer of his best friend's own mother. His thoughts and emotions were no longer a spider web of mystery impossible to untangle as they before. Now everything seemed to lay flat clearly in front of her, because now she could see how horribly similar they were.

"I'm sorry, Valkyrie, "China said, her face half-pitiful and half something that Valkyrie couldn't quite identify.

"Sorry about what?"

China sighed, "You think the only option ahead of you is to end up like Skulduggery or myself: two people that aren't exactly known for their compassion. But I promise you this: we aren't the only futures that you could choose."

"I don't know!" Valkyrie said, her arms raised above her head helplessly, "I just don't know. I'm sorry."

Valkyrie spun around and stalked off away from them. She could feel their gazes latched onto her, but she kept moving. When she got to the small room that had been appointed as her own she shut the door, not bothering to make little noise and flung herself down onto the bed. The mashed her head against the pillow, shut her eyes and let herself sink into the darkness. The duvet was soft against her skin, but it wasn't reassuring like it used to be. It reminded her of her own bed – back in Haggard – and she clenched her muscles in pain as she remembered how Alice used to wake her up early in the mornings, grinning that little grin of hers and giggling in glee. She hadn't noticed she'd been holding a breath, but let and it out and as she did tried to push and thoughts of her family or her former life away.

As China had built the shack for a place to hide against her many enemies, it was unsurprising that most of it was in the form of an underground bunker. Even so, when Valkyrie had discovered that the outside was indeed deceptive she'd gasped in astonishment, a feeling which was immediately replaced by excitement and an eager curiosity to explore. They'd been a lot more rooms than she'd anticipated for, but most were just filled with endless wooden shelves of delicate books and some with odd objects she assumed were some kind of magical instruments or artefacts. She'd really wanted to see what they did, but she had enough knowledge of the magical world to know that this wasn't such a good idea. Furthermore, China would probably skin her, then bury her alive, if Valkyrie ever damaged or broke anything by accident.

There weren't a lot of rooms made for actual living space, due to China's general choice to be alone (although Valkyrie sometimes wondered if this is what China really wanted). However there was a few bedrooms and Valkyrie had chosen a small one, seeing as she didn't have many possessions to store. The walls were mainly white but there was a pretty lilac floral pattern that floated around the edge of the ceiling that she liked to look at. The paint looked to be a thin coating and there was some odd splodges where it hadn't been painted evenly. For example there was a spot like this just over her bed, which was also simple, with plain white covers and a wooden headboard at the top. It wasn't exactly lavish, but Valkyrie had more pressing things to worry about than her living arrangements.

There was a gentle tap at the door in the corner, but Valkyrie didn't move her head from where it was squashed in the pillow. She really didn't want to talk to Skulduggery or even China right now, but she doubted whoever it was would leave. As she suspected, she soon hear the bottom of the door scraping against the wooden panels on the floor.

She let the silence settle for a moment, save for her and the other person's breathing. Breathing? China's breathing, then.

"Skulduggery suggested that you go outside to the forest. He said you'd feel less trapped out there."

Valkyrie didn't reply. If Skulduggery wanted to tell her something, he could do it himself. Although, as it pained her to admit it, she would feel less trapped outside. He really did know her well.

China continued, "You know, I forget you're only eighteen, sometimes, with everything that has happened to you. You act far more like a woman than many of the mages I have known for years. But then, occasionally I guess your youth returns to you, as if you were trying to catch up on your missed adolescence."

Valkyrie unwillingly smiled onto the pillow. It _was _slightly amusing how she returned to her room when she couldn't handle something – a stereotypical action of a teenager. She turned her head so China could see her.

"Yeah, okay. Sounds good," said Valkyrie.

A few hours later and after swallowing down a bit of bread, Valkyrie was back wandering through the forest she had arrived in. It seemed lighter than when she had arrived: the trees less intimidating, the wildlife less agitated and the natural paths more clear. The lack of company, whilst not being under the threat of danger was nice. She was alone, but she didn't feel lonely.

For about ten minutes, she walked, just listening to thoughts inside her head that wouldn't shut up. She detected the sound of water trickling she and after pushing through some wild undergrowth she found its source. Valkyrie emerged from the leaves that irritatingly flicked back in her face. Her mouth and eyes wide, she instantly dropped back behind the greenery.

The water that she had heard was a shallow stream, but around it was a full on campsite. There were about ten tents of dull green and grey colours scattered around. In the centre there was the remains of a campfire, soft wisps of smoke still flickering up into the clear sky above.

Valkyrie snuck another glance. This time she noticed that is was apparently isolated. She couldn't hear any human voices, so maybe whoever was there had gone on a day trip. Even so, she felt slightly uneasy about being here. She crept back, now wishing to get back the bunker, which was some half hour away. Now she'd wished she'd brought a phone, or had some way to contact Skulduggery or China.

Valkyrie rushed back to the bunker, the leaves beneath her feet disturbing the leaves as she hurried past. The door was unusually wide open as she flew in panic.

"China? Skulduggery?"

A skull appeared from up the stepladder leading down to the bunker. When Valkyrie had first been here, it had been covered with a rug, but now the gap in the floor was clearly visible to see.

"Yes?" said Skulduggery.

Valkyrie put a hand on her chest and breathed out, relieved and said, "Don't worry, it was just –"

"Valkyrie, move!" Skulduggery yelled.

She twisted around and her muscles froze as she saw Saracen Rue's fist fly towards her with a hardened expression on his face.


End file.
